In the literature or the state of the art there are to be found devices realizing actions similar to the artificial olfactory system; however the olfactory method and system proposed presents different characteristics rendering it unique with respect to the others. Said differences are described below:
The document CN 201233255 Y, denominated ‘Bionic smell system for robot’, reveals an olfactory bionic system for a robot comprising a nasal cavity, a system of inspiration and an integrated circuit, all within a casing, and a liquid crystal screen and a control panel assembled on the casing. The nasal cavity is sealed and is formed by an upper cavity board, a lower cavity board and a clapboard located between the upper cavity board and the lower cavity board, forming two air chambers. Each air chamber has an air inlet; the lower chamber presents orifices serving to install the sensors sealed with sealing rings, the clapboard dividing both chambers having the same number of orifices, as a consequence whereof the samples of air entering the chamber and reaching the sensors correspond one-to-one with the position of the air orifices in the clapboard.
The device referred to utilizes the air chambers to isolate it from the integrated circuits; although it has 2 air chambers and a clapboard, differing from the artificial olfactory system, it utilizes solely one of the air chambers to realize the measurements of the environment. In the case of the artificial olfactory system the air chambers are independent and by means of the design of a septum measurements are obtained from different positions in the environment, that is to say of the exterior of the system and not of the interior. Additionally, in the document ‘Bionic smell system for robot’, the processor and the control panel are integrated into the olfactory bionic system. In contrast, the artificial olfactory system realizes the acquisition of data and sends it wirelessly to any type of processor in order to realize all types of algorithm control and implementation.
Furthermore, the system of aspiration in the olfactory bionic system is utilized solely to carry the air towards the sensors; in contrast, in the biologically inspired artificial olfactory system, the system of inspiration comprises two stages corresponding to the process of inhalation and the process of exhalation. In addition, each air chamber separately disposes of a system of inhalation which simultaneously realizes the homogenization and sampling of the air, in addition to disposing of the inverse mechanism or that of exhalation to desaturate the sensors and prepare them for a further measurement. On inhalation and exhalation it passes through a system of particle filtration, in order to respectively clean the environment and the air chambers.
In the state of the art there is also to be found the document ‘Gas collection, ventilation and closing device of electronic nose system’ with patent number CN 201527429, revealing a collection, ventilation and closure device of an electronic nose system comprising a sealed body in four layers and 3 compartments, wherein the first layer has a feed port the sample which reaches the first compartment and comprises an admission valve and a discharge valve, the second layer serves to seal the system and wherein the second compartment there is disposed the signal from the matrix of sensors, and in the third layer there is to be found the array of sensors incorporated and encapsulated in the ‘electronic nose’ system. Finally, the third compartment is the air chamber wherein the sample is collected. This device isolates, in the same manner as the foregoing one, the matrix of sensors of the electronic nose system from the external environment and ensures employing solely the sample to analyze the smell. In addition, this device disposes of a system which on being isolated from the environment, accelerates the recovery and response time of the sensors.
The aforementioned device, differing from the artificial olfactory system, completely isolates the sample and the sensors from the external environment, not being recommendable to obtain the direction wherefrom a smell emanates by virtue of the fact that this depends directly on the environment. The system of smell collection is utilized for other types of application, such as quality control of foods, for example. In contrast, the artificial olfactory system presents a mobile application; this signifies that it may be installed on a type of mobile platform such as, for example, a robot, and specify the direction wherefrom a smell emanates in order that the platform may follow a trajectory and locate possible sources of smell.